The villages in the upper and middle valley above Vălenii de Munte form the compact Teleajen communities although this zone reaches south to near Ploiesti. Vălenii de Munte was the customs post and county town of Săcuieni (or Saac in the Slavic form) which is one of the ancient counties of Țara Românesc and generally attributed to Mircea cel Bătrân (1386–1418).

The ancient route from Transylvania to the Danube crossed the mountains from the customs point at Varma Buzăului, over the mountain ridge route past Vârful Piatra lui Crai, then followed the Drajna valley through Cerașu and Slon (which means warehouses in Romanian), then on to Buzău or Vălenii de Munte.^[1] A second route from Săcele (south of Brașov), took the more west mountain range, down the Teleajan valley to Vălenii de Munte.^[2]